


Finding a Fit

by Excelll333



Category: Camp Buddy (Visual Novel)
Genre: 5+1 Things, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, COC Bonding, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Friendship, Gen, Hijinks & Shenanigans, I changed the rating to teens because cmon it’s camp buddy ffs, Not Beta Read we die like yuki, The main five bois are called the COC, aka the cabin one crew, im probably gonna use that tag a lot, small bit of
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-23
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:55:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29663475
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Excelll333/pseuds/Excelll333
Summary: After his redemption and reconciling with all the campers, Taiga had come to a conclusion that despite their forgiveness, the main five had no plan to actually be his friend. And he was ok with that.He couldn’t have been more wrongAka: five times Taiga questioned if he was a part of the COC and one time he knew for sure.
Relationships: Taiga & Keitaro & Hiro & Hunter & Natsumi & Yoichi
Comments: 18
Kudos: 14





	1. Time 1: The Balloon Bath

**Author's Note:**

> YES PEOPLE. IM BACK AND IT HASNT EVEN BEEN A MONTH!
> 
> If you’ve read my work before, welcome back. If you haven’t, hello! Go read my story Felix’s Birthday Bash!
> 
> I’m very happy to say that I’m writing this new story that is all about our redhead Taiga and his new friends.
> 
> Go follow my tumblr and Twitter for more CB stuff!
> 
> Ps: if you can’t tell COC stands for Cabin One Crew. It’s what I call Keitaro, Hiro, Hunter, Natsumi and Yoichi. A lil name I made up back in my first story.
> 
> And with that, on to the story!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yoichi stinks. Taiga calls for reinforcements.

Taiga didn’t have friends.

Ok, no that was a lie. He’s had friends before. But he didn’t have friends friends. Not like that.

Back when he was growing up, people knew who he was. Taiga Akatora, the try-hard redhead with two moms and four younger quadruplets siblings who were known for causing chaos. With his intimidating sharp canines and his infamous short temper, he really wasn’t the ideal candidate for a friend.

It wasn’t like he pushed people away. To be frank, he was just another guy. He played video games, he procrastinated, he liked to go out and eat junk food. He wasn’t any different. But no matter how hard he tried, his connections with people just wouldn’t click. Sure, they invited him to parties and laughed at his jokes, but Taiga couldn’t feel the closeness you were supposed to see when you made friends. He didn’t have that one person he could lean on when he was down, and he didn’t have any inside jokes he could share.

He never liked to admit it, but sometimes, Taiga felt really lonely.

Mama always said that he’d find his own group of people when the time was right, and if he stayed true to who he was then he’d know when he belonged. And in some sense she and Momma were right. He met Kieran and with him he had so many happy moments in his life. It only got better when he went to Camp Buddy. People enjoyed his company and people genuinely wanted him around. At last, he finally thought he had found his people.

But unfortunately, like all other things, Taiga had to mess it up.

That year was a wreck for him. He had his first heartbreak, he was framed for something he didn’t do and was shunned from buddy society. Once again, he was alone.

Well, not completely at least. There was still Lee and Eduard, who had decided to stay by his side despite all things. But in his hatred and anger, he took his only friends for granted, forcing them into submission and servitude. He was the king, Lee and Eduard merely subjects. It wasn’t a friendship. It was a damn monarchy.

And Taiga hated it.

In spite of that fact, he continued in his ways, his anger only getting worse when the two new campers came along and stole everyone’s hearts. Taiga had never been so envious. Him, who struggled to make friends all his life only to be outshone by some suck-up frog boy. What on earth did he have that he didn’t? It wasn’t fair.

He did a lot of messed up shit that summer. He didn’t like to talk about it. But the one thing he would always think back on was the persistence of Keitaro Nagame and his friends. How no matter how much he snapped or how he retaliated, they still forgave him for what he did. He never understood it. Even when he was crying like a fool on the pier under the stars, Keitaro looked him in the eye and forgave him. Even after terrorising them all summer, Hiro, Yoichi, Natsumi and Hunter helped him repair the journal. They looked past his asshole exterior and they saw him for him and wanted to be his friend. Taiga had never seen such kindness from people outside his family.

But like all good things, camp quickly came to an end. Hugs were given, goodbyes were exchanged, and happy faces were seen throughout. He remembered wishing the others campers farewell, with Keitaro placing a hand on his shoulder before boarding the bus.

“I’m really glad we got to spend the last bit of summer with you, Taiga!”

Taiga grinned shyly.

“Thanks for being a good friend, Keitaro. I’m glad we could end this summer on a good note.”

“Keitaro c’mon! The bus is boarding!”

Keitaro took a step back. “Oh I gotta go! Take care Taiga!”

And with that, the boy took off, looking back over his shoulder to wave goodbye. Taiga could hear Yoichi creep up to him as the watched the bus drive away. Yoichi let out a happy huff of air.

“It’s gonna be real quiet without those freaks.” Yoichi stated, staring at the dust trail left by the bus. Taiga gave a nod.

“Yeah, it’s gonna be a while when we see them again.”

Yoichi raised a purple eyebrow. “With these guys? Nah, we’re gonna see ‘em real soon.”

Taiga just shrugged the question off. He didn’t count on it. There was usually a promise of meeting up again, along with a check-in text or two. But he knew that the connection dwindled, shrivelled and died at some point. It always went that way. Taiga wasn’t expecting to actually be good friends with the others. Their forgiveness was all he needed.

He never expected what came in the following months.

* * *

The first time Taiga questioned it was about a month after camp. He had just settled into living at the place, only beginning to getting used to waking up and helping out around the premises. It was kinda strange living there with Yoichi and the scoutmasters. With a lot of clashing personalities like the ever-strict Sir Goro and rebellious Yoichi, no day was ever boring. It was kinda like they were all a big mix-matched family. Something Taiga secretly longed to be a part of. But he’d only been there for a month. There was no rush.

He was currently munching on a bowl of cereal in the canteen with Aiden and Yoshinori when Yoichi strolled in. Yoshi looked up and brightened at the boy.

“Oh! Good morning Yoichi! I hope you slept well!”

Yoichi grunted in reply, too consumed by the screen of his phone. Taiga rolled his eye fondly. Ever since Yoshinori had upgraded the WiFi and given technology to Yoichi, he had barely looked away from it, rather it be adorable puppy videos or, more recently, texting his friends. Taiga stopped his train of thought to smell the air. He gagged violently.

“EUGH! What is that _smell_?” Aiden scrunched his nose in acknowledgment.

“It’s kinda smells like if a dead fish had sex with a deceased skunk.”

“Aiden!”

“What? I’m just trying to be accurate!”

Yoshi narrowed his eyes to the source of the smell. “Yoichi… how long has it been since you’ve taken a bath?”

Yoichi stopped texting to ponder for a moment. “Uhh… Tuesday, I think?”

“Yoichi, it’s Monday.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“YOU HAVEN’T SHOWERED IN A WEEK?! Yoichi that is so unhealthy! Hygiene is very important in your daily life! When you don’t-”

“Whatever Brokeback! Don’t give a shit. I have to walk Yuki anyway. I’ll do it when I wanna.”

With that, he grabbed a bread roll from the table and walked away. Yoshinori sighed dejectedly.

“It’s such a struggle to get Yoichi to be clean sometimes.” He turned to Taiga hopefully. “Do you think you could help convince him maybe, Taiga?”

Taiga startled. “W-What? Me?! I’m not sure Scoutmaster Yoshi. I’m not the best with being reasonable.”

“You two have been getting along recently. Why not give it a try?”

Yoshinori wasn’t entirely wrong. One of the main reasons he had began to feel comfortable here was because Yoichi helped him stop feeling like was intruding and taught him the ropes of living on the grounds off-season. The boy showed him the best places in the forest and he helped him play pranks on both Yoshinori and Goro. Taiga wouldn’t deny that he had fun this past month. Nevertheless, he definitely wasn’t going to be the one able to convince the stubborn-headed guy to go take a bath.

… But he did know others who could.

It was time to call in reinforcements.

* * *

  
Taiga blinked in bewilderment around fifteen minutes later.

“Uhm… I didn’t think you’d all come.”

In front of him stood Keitaro, Hiro, Hunter and Natsumi, all assembled in the cabin they had slept in last summer. Hiro bounced up and down on a bottom bunk.

“Well duh. All you texted was “Yoichi stank so bad. Need help pls”. It was obviously a cry for help.”

Taiga sweated at the reminder. It was the first time he had actually texted anyone at camp apart from Lee and Eduard, and he wasn’t entirely sure that they’d respond to the cryptic and strange message.

Natsumi hummed in agreement as he snapped on a pair of plastic blue gloves. “Don’t worry Taiga. I’ve dealt with a smelly Yoichi before, this will be a piece of cake!”

“As much as I’m grateful for your help, is your whole… outfit necessary?”

Natsumi stared in confusion as he put on his mask. The “outfit” Taiga was referring to was a whole hazmat suit, helmet and all. Natsumi looked quite offended.

“Taiga, I am prepared for every situation. You don’t know how bad his stench can get. I’m just protecting us.”

“But where did you get _five_ hazmat suits?”

“A Hamasaki is always equipped for every situation. No matter what boundaries he has to break.”

Keitaro sweated and chuckled nervously. “Uh, maybe we should focus on how we’re gonna get him into the shower room. He’s never going to go willingly.”

Hunter raised his finger and opened his mouth to give his input. However Keitaro quickly turned to shoot him down.

“No, Hunter. We are not going to get him naked and bondage him under the pretence that we’re going to have an orgy.”

Hunter deflated and groaned.

“But it’s such a good idea. He’d totally fall for it!”

Hiro eyed the blonde suspiciously. “Are you just saying so he can take a bath or do you legit wanna see him wet and hard?”

“… All artist need their inspiration, Hiro.”

“You’re disgusting.”

“Don’t deny you wouldn’t want to see that too.”

“OK!” Natsumi intercepted as Keitaro giggled helplessly. “If we’re done talking about Hunter’s hopeless libido-”

“Ouch.”

“We still need to figure out how to get Yoichi clean. Any non-sexual ideas?”

The group seemed to be stuck with coming up with a solution. Suddenly, Taiga snapped his fingers.

“I got it! Yoichi loves pranks, right? So… what if we do something like that? Fill up water balloons and have a water fight or something. It’s still pretty warm so it’s not like he’d be freezing.”

The group stared in silence. Taiga shrinked in embarrassment. Water balloons? Seriously? God, he sounded so stupid sometimes. So much for making-

“That’s genius!”

Taiga came out of his self-pity party to look in astonishment.

“What? You think so?”

Hiro eyes glimmered in excitement. “Playing a prank on Wolfboy? And stopping him from smelling? Count me in!”

“Taiga’s right! If Yoichi won’t get into the tub, then we’ll just bring the bath to him! Great idea Taiga!”

Natsumi patted his fist into his palm in determination. “Yes! And we can fill some balloons with soap and wash him down with a hose! It’s perfect!”

Hunter contemplated on the plan. “Yeah, I think it’ll work. But we’re gonna need him down to his pants at least.”

Taiga smirked. “Don’t worry. Leave it to me.”

“… Are you two gonna fuck-”

“NO!”

* * *

  
“So why do I have to be in swimming trunks?”

“Uh… we’re going swimming.”

“Eh, sounds legit. But the pool’s over there, Dynamite. And why the fuck aren’t you dressed for the occasion?”

Taiga paled at the question as he quickly side-eyed, waiting for the boy to make it to the marked area. Taiga spluttered for an excuse.

“Well, uhm, I’m not swimming.”

“So what, you’re just gonna watch me swim? Are you trying to fuck me, Dynamite?”

“Dude, no! God, why is everyone saying that?”

“Wait, who’s-”

Finally Yoichi had stepped on the marked X, and he saw a thumbs up over the green grass. Taiga sighed in relief.

“NOW!”

Yoichi quickly looked confused, quickly twisting around.

“Oi, what the fuck is going-”

Splat!

Silence rang through as a yellow balloon burst on Yoichi’s chest, pink smelling soap splattered onto his pecs. Yoichi raised his arms in surprise, only for two more balloons to hit him in his armpits. The balloons kept coming, one on his back, another two right in his hair and a few hitting his his arms and legs. Yoichi was too stunned to move, letting the balloon explode all over his body. Once the assault seemed to be over, Yoichi was shaking in anger, turning to look at Taiga in rage.

“Dynamite. What the FUCK-”

Yoichi stopped when he saw Taiga and the others armed with balloons filled with with water and sponges. His anger quickly dissolved into worry.

“Guys… stay the fuck away from me… don’t you get any closer… no… no…NOOOOOO!”

…

A few yells and minutes later, the boys stood back to see a sopping wet but good smelling Yoichi. By the frown on his face and his wet bangs, he looked reminiscent of a upset puppy. Natsumi grinned at their work.

“Wow! He smells much better now!”

Keitaro put his arms on his hips in pride. “Yeah, I’m really glad that worked!”

Hiro looked over to their finished project, only to widen his eyes in fear. “Uhh, guys?”

“Yes, Hiro?”

“W-Who gave Yoichi the sprinkler?”

The team froze, slowly turning to see an evil grinning Yoichi with a hose in hand. Taiga and the others slowly tried to back away.

“H-Hey buddy, let’s not be hasty now… put down the hose Yoichi…”

Yoichi’s smirk only got wider.

“RUN!”

With that Yoichi switched on the hose, beginning to spray his friends, causing them to squeal and yell with laughter. Hiro retaliated by picking up a balloon, throwing it at their attacker, sparking a full on every man for himself water fight. Taiga could hardly breathe from how hard he was laughing as they bombarded each other with water guns and weapons alike. The battle was intense, with people using trees for higher attacking points and alliances being made and betrayed (Taiga could vaguely hear Hiro crying in anguish as Keitaro hit him with a balloon.). Soon enough they fell to the ground in exhaustion, smiles stuck on their faces. Yoichi spoke up after catching his breath.

“So, who’s idea was this?”

Hunter sat up, trying to wring out the water from his shirt. “Well, we heard that you weren’t taking a bath, so we came out to help get you clean. The balloon idea was Taiga’s though.”

“Hey! Don’t sell me out!”

Instead of the wrath that Taiga expected to face, Yoichi let out a small laugh.

“Heh, good idea. Still surprised you were able to pin me down though. Maybe that’s cause Torch-Head sat on me, the fatass.”

“Hey! Screw you, I’m not that heavy! You’re just weak!”

Keitaro chuckled at their behavior. “C’mon guys, let’s go inside, we’re gonna freeze if we don’t dry up.”

The others got up to leave but Yoichi yelled out for them to stop. They turned to see Yoichi red in the face and rubbing his wet hair shyly.

“Uhh, just wanted to say… thanks, or whatever. I know I suck at taking care of myself, so you guys helping out means a lot.”

Natsumi clasped his hands together and cooed. “Aww, Yoichi. It was no problem! Don’t thank us, thank Taiga. It was his idea!”

Yoichi turned to the redhead and smiled a genuine smile. “Thanks, Dynamite.” He put his hand on his shoulder.

“You’re a good friend.”

Taiga looked in surprise. That was the first time Yoichi had blatantly called them friends. He smiled in return.

“No problem man. Just take it as a thanks for showing me around all month.”

Hiro shivered. “Guys, can we please go inside? I’m so cold!”

With that, they made their way inside, where Scoutmaster Yoshi gave them all blankets and drank Sir Aiden’s hot chocolate. For the first time, he felt as if he was having fun just being with the others. He didn’t feel like he was listening in or intruding. He was just naturally there. Taiga grinned as he listened to Yoichi recount the scenario to the scoutmasters.

It was a good day.


	2. Time Two: Towel Ponchos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keitaro forgot that he has shopping to do. The COC provide horrible assistance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aww yiss, new chapter people! I’ve already had this one written so that’s why it’s extra early!
> 
> And honestly thank you guys so much for 100 hits already. The first time I posted my first fic it took like 3 days to get to it, and now it’s been less than 24 hours and it’s already there! I can’t be thankful enough!
> 
> Now onto the chapter!

The next time it caught Taiga’s attention was when it was off campus. After the shower incident the others had been coming over to the camp much more often, almost every weekend to help out with the chores. Though most of the time it just led to them all goofing off. Sir Goro was never really impressed by that.

Today however something had felt off. Well, more so someone. It was a Saturday evening, and the sun had begun to set on Camp Buddy, turning the sky a pretty orange-y pinkish. The six boys were leisurely hanging around on the field, with Hunter showing Natsumi’s the basics of painting a sky and that no Natsumi, ice pop juice isn’t a substitute for paint. Over by the left Yoichi was demonstrating how he trained Yuki to Taiga and Hiro. Taiga looked away from the sight of Hiro being tackled by the big dog to see Keitaro quietly skimming through his now digital camera, a forlorn look on his features. He leaned in to whisper to Hiro as he helped him up from the floor.

“Hey, Hiro, do you know what’s up with Keitaro? He’s been pretty quiet since you guys have been here.”

The boy who was vigorously trying to wipe off the paw prints peered over to where his best friend sat and frowned.

“Yeah, I see what you’re talking about. He didn’t even laugh when Yoichi snorted milk through his nose. Something must be wrong.”

“Ya know Torch Head, not everyone likes to laugh at other’s pain. You’re just a bitch.” Yoichi sneered at Hiro as he patted Yuki.

“Oh quiet,Wolfboy, don’t act like you didn’t laugh when I slipped on your snot milk and fell on the floor.”

“Ok, now _that_ was funny. Karma is such a blessing.”

Taiga rolled his eyes at the two’s banter. “Moving on, does anyone actually know why he’s down?”

Yoichi gave a shrug. “Beats me. Better to let him mope it out-”

“I’m gonna go ask him!”

“Or do whatever the fuck Torch Head’s doing.”

Hiro quickly skipped over to Keitaro, Taiga and Yoichi following suit. Keitaro looked up from his device and gave them a hollow smile.

“Oh, hey guys. Something wrong?”

Hiro squinted. Now there was something definitely wrong. Keitaro never started a conversation like that. He’d always have something to say or show, rather it be his photos or a event that occurred that day. He rubbed his chin as he looked right at the brunette. Yoichi sat directly in front of the boy to examine him, Taiga doing the same from his side. Keitaro’s eyebrows creased in confusion.

“Uhh, is everything ok? Why are you staring at me like that?”

The trio didn’t answer. Natsumi and Hunter wandered over from where they were previously, curious about the congregation. They took their place, circling around Keitaro like the others were doing. Natsumi cocked his head.

“What are we doing?”

“Something’s wrong with Keitaro. We’re trying to figure out what.”

“Ah, I see.” Natsumi understood, quickly joining to inspect his friend. Keitaro looked side to side in bafflement.

“You know, you could just ask me-”

“Hush Keitaro, we’re busy. We need concentration.”

“Taiga, is this really necessary?”

“Absolutely. How else are we gonna figure out what’s up with you?”

Hunter crossed his arms. “Maybe he cut his hair?”

Yoichi shook his head. “Nah, it’s still that same geeky mop of hair.”

Keitaro clutched his head defensively. “Hey, my hair is perfectly fine!”

“Uh huh, keep telling yourself that Frogboy. Oh! I got it! He lost his virginity!”

“WHAT!? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET THAT?!”

“So I was right?”

“NO!”

“Tch. Damn it. I got nothing.”

Taiga studied the boy in question. There wasn’t anything off as far as the eye could see. His brown hair was still messy, his green eyes weren’t any different and his face was… wait a minute…

Taiga got right into Keitaro’s personal space, furiously trying to pinpoint what was going on. Keitaro’s confusion was quickly becoming annoyance.

“Ok guys will you stop trying to guess what’s wrong? I am fine-”

“Boop.”

The group went quiet as Taiga brought his index finger to poke right at Keitaro’s naked jaw. Directly where his bandage was supposed to be. Hiro let out a long gasp.

“Woah! I didn’t even realise that! You don’t have your bandage on! That’s why you’ve been so quiet! Why didn’t you say anything?”

Keitaro shrugged as he rubbed at the spot that been poked at.

“Well, yeah, I don’t really have any at home and I was planning to go shopping for the house anyway. Does anyone know what the time is?”

Natsumi looked down at his wrist where his digital watch laid. “Oh, it’s just hit six.”

Keitaro’s eyes widened in surprise, pushing himself away from the group to get up in worry.

“Six o’clock? Already?! I’ll never be able to get all the stuff and catch the bus on time! I gotta go! I’ll see you guys later!”

Keitaro made his way to leave, but Taiga quickly grabbed his arm to stop him.

“Woah woah woah, cool it Keitaro. You’re in no state to go shopping all worried and upset like this. Take a breather, ok?”

Keitaro let out a shaky breath, trying to get his feelings in check.

“I guess you’re right. But I really need to get to the store on time so I can catch the bus before the last one leaves.”

Natsumi stepped forward and put his hand on his smaller friend’s shoulder. “I know! How about I drive you down and help you drive home? It’ll be way quicker!”

Hiro jumped in excitement as he added to the idea. “And we’ll come along to help you out! You could always use more hands, amiright?” Yoichi and Hunter nodded in support.

Keitaro appeared delighted at the help he was being offered. “Are you guys sure? I hope it won’t be a bother.”

Taiga waved the worry off. “Eh, it’s no bother. C’mon, let’s go shopping!  
  


* * *

“Alright we’ve made it! Let’s grab a trolley and get started!” Natsumi encouraged as the boys exited the vehicle.

Yoichi made a mad sprint to the cart selection area, tugging out a large plastic trolley and demanded that he’d be the one to push. Looking at the mad glint in his eye, no one protested. Keitaro plopped himself inside, stating that “at least one person has to be on guard with the groceries at all times, no I’m not being childish Hunter, this is a serious job.” The boy waved Taiga over.

“C’mon Taiga, hop in!”

“You sure? I dunno if there’s enough space in there.”

“Of course there is! And I need support if Yoichi randomly decides to let go of the cart and I crash into a shelf.”

“Oh wow, submitting me to the same fate, how fun. Scooch over.”

Taiga made himself as comfortable as possible, sitting on top of the bags Keitaro had brought over as make-shift pillows. Finally the group made their way into the mega-superstore, the fluorescence lights flooding the huge supermarket. The store was eerily quiet except for the idle chatter from other customers. While it wasn’t near closing time, it was a late Saturday evening, meaning there wasn’t as many patrons here for a full shopping trip like the boys were. Hiro leaned on the cart as Yoichi pushed it along.

“Shit Dynamite, you and Frogboy weigh too much, you’re bringing down the whole damn trolley.”

“Oh hush Wolfboy, you’re the one who signed up to push it, now deal with it. Ok Keitaro, what’s on the list?”

Keitaro fished the paper out of his pocket and began to read what he had written down.

“Hmm, let’s see… well I need bread… instant noodles… potato chips, only cheese and onion flavour though… frozen pizza… some frozen lasagne…”

“Uh, Keitaro?” Hunter intercepted.

“Yeah Hunter?”

“I think you better stop. I’m pretty sure you’re giving Hiro a heart attack.”

Keitaro and the others peered over, and indeed Hiro was hunched over wheezing, with his hands on knees to balance himself. Keitaro cocked his head in worry.

“Hiro, what’s wrong? You look like you’ve been shot.”

“That’s because you’re literally killing me, Keitaro! What on earth is that list? It’s terrible!”

Keitaro gasped offendedly. “What? It’s just my normal grocery essentials.”

“You eat like that all the time? Geez, no wonder you have bad taste in everything.”

“Hey! That’s not a very nice thing to say, _best friend!_ ”

“Well, as your best friend, I’m telling you you eat like shit.”

“I don’t eat like shit! My diet is perfectly fine! Right guys?”

Hunter shrugged his shoulders shyly. “I’m going to have to side with Hiro on this one, Keitaro. Your eating habits are atrocious. And I thought Hiro was bad enough as it is.”

“Why is everyone attacking me today? I mean, look at it this way. I’m in shape, I don’t have any deficiencies, and my skin is healthy!”

The others just stared in disappointment. Hiro strode over to poke at Keitaro’s face.

“You have a zit right there.”

Keitaro gasped as he covered his forehead. He narrowed his eyes as he admitted defeat.

“Ok Mr Nutritionist. What would _you_ get when you’re going shopping?”

Hiro smiled in triumph.

“Well don’t worry dear Keitaro of mine, I’m gonna show you how to do your shop! This’ll be a lesson for all of you guys, so just pay attention. But first order of business!”

He quickly pinched the paper Keitaro was holding and ripped it to shreds. Keitaro whined in dismay as the the pieces slowly fell and littered the floor. Hiro then hopped onto Yoichi’s back and kicked him in the side.

“Onward noble steed!”

“OI, GET THE FUCK OFFA ME TORCH-HEAD!”

A few minutes later, Taiga had come to find out that everyone had their own very… unique style of shopping. While Hiro bought a vast amount of fresh ingredients and ideal food supply, he had gotten too much. For example, when they had entered the bread section of the store, Hiro thought it was absolutely vital to buy 3 loaves of bread. It was only by the sheer will of Keitaro that Hiro put back two.

Keitaro on the other hand wouldn’t take a single thing and would only take ready-made items. Taiga would sit awkwardly in the cart as the two best friends argued amongst themselves if buying Kraft mac and cheese was acceptable.

“It’s still macaroni, Hiro!”

“You can make that yourself! Have I taught you nothing?”

“But this is easier!”

“This is an abomination!”

Natsumi was the type to take his precious time with his shop, tending to read every single ingredient on the back. They had stayed in the dairy aisle for quite a bit when Natsumi couldn’t decide which one to pick.

“Natsumi, can you please just pick one and go?”

“Sorry Taiga, but I can’t decide if the Betty Cow’s Full Fat Milk is better then the Betsy Full Fat Milk.”

“What’s the difference?!”

“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out!”

“Ugh!”

Yoichi meanwhile decided that the grocery trip meant buying the whole damn grocery. Taiga felt as if he was drowning in boxes as Yoichi grabbed any and every type of cereal. He frowned as he picked up a box that had previously hit his head.

“Dude, I don’t think Keitaro’s gonna eat “Mr Pupper’s Happy Happy Rainbow Crunch Cereal” for breakfast.”

“Well, of course he fucking has to. It has marshmallow paws, Dynamite. Marshmallow. Paws. It’s the holy mother of cereals.”

Hunter though? Well, he wasn’t of much help. While he did go help get items for the shop, most of the time he got stuff that weren’t even food. It only got more confusing when he put a pair of shoes into the cart.

“Hunter, what on earth does Keitaro need high heels for?”

“They’re not for him, they’re for me. It’s come to my attention that I need to get taller.”

“But… these are like size 9. They won’t even fit you. This doesn’t even make any sense.”

“Why have logic, when you can have supremacy.”

“Sweet Jesus.”

They had spent so much time laughing at each other and running up and down the aisles, they had almost forgot about the bandages. Keitaro and Taiga leaped out of the cart and made their way to the back of the store, where most of the medical supplies were placed. Taiga stared as Keitaro rifled through the different packaging, trying to find the specific brand that he always bought.

“You know, I always wanted to ask, what’s up with the bandage thing anyway? You always wear them, but I’m pretty sure there’s never a cut on that jaw of yours.”

Keitaro froze in his search but didn’t turn to make eye contact.

“You wanna know the real reason?”

Taiga just nodded.

“To be honest, it really was just because of a cut. I’ve always been kinda clumsy, and when I was little there was always this one step on the staircase I’d trip over. I hurt myself every time, haha! But whenever I did, my dad would always put on this lil green bandaid on me and tell me everything’s alright.

“These days I only wear it for the look, but sometimes… it just reminds me of the past, ya know? Memories and all that stuff.”

Taiga smirked at the rather sappy story. He could relate to that in a sense. He’d never admit it, but he was a bit of a momma’s boy himself and liked to keep little reminders of both his parents on him.

“That’s kinda cute, man. Still pretty dweeby though.”

“Thanks, Taiga.”

“What does your dad say when he sees you wear them?”

Keitaro cast his eyes downward and Taiga grimaced. It was clear he had hit a soft spot. He placed a hand on Keitaro’s upper back and looked at him as a quiet apology. He wasn’t always the best with words. Nonetheless, Keitaro smiled back.

“Don’t worry man, I get it. Now let’s get the shit and go. Hiro’s probably filled the cart with edible glitter.”

“Yeah you’re right- oh hey, look at this!”

Keitaro ran over to a rack of clothing and tugged out a green towel poncho that had a frog patch on its hoodie. He spun to show Taiga as his eyes glimmered with glee.

“Isn’t this cute? I should get it!”

“And I thought Hunter was bad. You’ll look like an idiot.”

“Awww please, I’d look fantastic! Look, Taiga! There’s a red one!”

Keitaro went on to pull out another five different designs. It seemed to be that he was matching all of the others with their signature colours.

“Dude, we’d look like a walking rainbow.”

“Exactly! We’d look so cool. It’ll be our friend group thing! Kinda like friendship bracelets, but better!”

Taiga blinked. Friend group? Did that include him? Before he could ask, Keitaro was already grabbing his arm to drag him to where they last left the group.

“Let’s go! The guys will love this!”

And indeed they did. At the check-out aisle, six colourful boys could be seen in the queue, a boy in a blue poncho asking the cashier if pasta would taste different if he used two different brands of the same type of cheese, another boy in orange deciding to take every flavour of gum available on the small shelf and placed it with the 5 inch high heel pumps and boxes of sugary cereal. In the distance two boys dressed in red and green could be heard screaming as a purple hooded figure attempted to do a 360 with a cart that held the two passengers. An old woman stared on at the chaos and directed her gaze to a yellow covered male as he sat on top of the rotating check-out belt along with the groceries reading a large book. He looked up to give the lady an eyebrow and ask silently what she was staring at. The woman looked away in fear.

The group finally exited the store, paying for the groceries and the ponchos. And as Taiga strode out into the dark car park with his coloured assorted, knock-off skittle excuses of friends, he realized these ponchos were a sign of their friendship. Taiga had never had something like that before… and despite the ugly design and the fact that the overly large towel were meant for children, he was 100% sure he wouldn’t take it off for a while.


	3. Time Three: Pancakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It’s Pancake Tuesday and the boys go to the park and bake.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CHAPTER THREE IS HERE PEOPLE!
> 
> I actually enjoyed writing this chapter a lot, because as you know I love Hiro and Taiga’s friendship concept. Those two could be really good friends.
> 
> Onto the story!

The third time it happened wasn’t something Taiga saw coming. It was a nice morning, and since he had a day off Taiga was planning on a nice lie-in, ready to sleep until midday at least.

That is, until Yoichi blasted down his door at 8:30 in the morning and roughly shook him awake.

“Dude! Get up!”

“Yoichi, what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing awake before 11am?”

“Doesn’t matter, get outta bed, you lazy cat! We gotta get going!”

“Go where? The only place I’m planning to go today is the kitchen and my bed. Don’t even think I’m going to shower, I’m too tired.”

“To Torch-Head’s place, duh! He just called and he needs our help!”

That caught Taiga’s attention. He quickly stumbled out of his bed and looked to Yoichi worriedly.

“Hiro’s in trouble? What happened?! Are we gonna make it in time? Do we need to bring anything? How bad is it?!”

Yoichi looked the boy up and down.

“Dude, I’d love to tell you, but I ain’t saying shit ‘til you put some pants on.”

After a change of clothes and a swift goodbye to the scoutmasters, Yoichi and Taiga grabbed a bus and rode over to Hiro’s house. Yoichi had explained that Hiro hadn’t said much on the call except to get over as soon as possible. It wasn’t said aloud, but Taiga knew what, or more specifically who, they were concerned for.

After racing away from the bus stop, Yoichi strode to the front door and gave it a heavy knock. Taiga could hear footsteps for a moment before a middle aged woman with deep chestnut brown hair opened the door and smiled down at the pair of them. Taiga could feel Yoichi’s shoulders sag in relief. This must’ve been Hiro’s mother then.

“Oh hello, boys! Hiro’s been expecting you. Please, come on in!”

The woman moved inside, gesturing for the two to come in. They complied, and Hiro’s mother turned to face the redhead.

“You must be Taiga. I’ve heard so much about you!”

  
Taiga blushed pink and looked away. He wouldn’t have been surprised if Hiro had told his mom about the asshole who had tried to ruin everyone’s summer. He was ready to met by an accusing glare and a small frown, but when he returned the state he only saw a happy smile and warm eyes.

“So very happy to meet you! It’s so nice to finally meet all of Hiro’s friends.”

Taiga blush got pinker as he shakily smiled back. Her kindness reminded him of his own mother. He didn’t know if she knew everything, but if she did… he appreciated her seeing past that.

“You boys head on to the kitchen. Hiro’s been waiting for you for quite a while!”

Yoichi gave a short nod and Taiga bowed in thanks, and began to walk down the hallway.

“She’s nice.”

“That woman raised the dude who’s the most protective piece of shit over his friends on earth. Being nice is just some weird Akiba gene thing.”

Getting closer Taiga could faintly hear some type of commotion with pots and pans clattering and people’s voices getting louder with each step toward the closed door. Yoichi glanced at each other in concern as Yoichi braced himself and opened the door.

Taiga gaped in horror at the sight that he had just walked into. Keitaro was at the stove, trying to hold 3 frying pans and two large pots at the same time. On the other side of the room Hunter and Natsumi were struggling to stack flour into a large box container. With their white coated clothes, it was clear to see that one bag had exploded on them. In the middle of the kitchen Hiro was furiously scribbling into a notepad, occasionally chewing on the pen and letting out an outburst when he seemed to get an idea. He looked up from his writing and sighed in relief?

“There you are! Where have you been?!”

“Sorry Torch-Head, no one’s really awake at the ass crack of dawn on a weekday.”

“Doesn’t matter, just get over here! There’s no time!”

Taiga raised an eyebrow. “Hiro, what’s going on? You said there was an emergency.”

“There _is_ an emergency! Don’t you know what day it is?”

“Uh… no?”

Hiro came around from the kitchen island to march up and down like a sergeant leading his men into war.

“Today is the one day I wait for every year. It is the day that I carry out my mission that I was given the day I was born. Today is the greatest, most important day of my life.”

He spun on his heel to look menacingly at the boys.

“Today… is Pancake Tuesday.”

Silence.

“So… you’re telling me… I got up for nothing? I’m going home.”

“Hey, hold up Wolfboy! You get back here, I need your help! You get food if you stay!”

Yoichi stopped in his tracks to ponder on the offer.

“I’m listening.”

Hiro walked over the the wall and pulled down on a string, revealing a PowerPoint presentation labeled “Hiro’s Guide to a Perfect Pancake Tuesday!”.

“Ok people, gather round! We need to discuss the game plan! And Keitaro, please don’t break anything, those are my mom’s pans.”

After Natsumi lent the brunette a hand, the boys sat down on the countertop to listen to Hiro’s rather well put together project. The boy extended a long pointer and whacked it against the projecter.

“As you know, today is Pancake Tuesday, where one or many gather round and enjoy the blessing of the food known as pancakes.”

“Every year, me and Keitaro go down to the park where they hold the annual “Perfect Pancake Showdown” to watch all the neighbors make the best pancake in the whole neighborhood! All the food and the money made goes to local homeless shelter too!”

“But this year, I’m finally gonna be able to compete! And I’m finally going to be my worst arch-nemesis… Sotan Saiki.”

He moved to the next slide, which displayed a boy with devil horns messily doodled on. Hiro squinted in anger staring at nothing in particular. Yoichi huffed and crossed his arms.

“I thought _I_ was your worst arch-nemesis…”

Taiga patted his back in comfort. Keitaro gave Yoichi a shrug.

“Sorry Yoichi, but you don’t have anything on Saiki. He and Hiro have always been at each other’s necks since we were kids. I remember when we were growing up Hiro and Saiki had their birthday on the same day. They’d always try to outdo each other when they brought in treats for the class.” He shivered. “It was brutal.”

“That was only because Saiki had his stupid fancy chefs to bake him that gigantic lemon meringue cake!” Hiro argued. “I totally would’ve won that anyway!”

“Hiro, it was never a competition.”

“Well now it is! And now I have you guys we’re gonna make more pancakes and make the best pancakes in this whole town! So, you in?”

“Of course we’ll help you, Hiro! It is for a good cause after all!” Natsumi said in excitement.

“I’m not a very good chef, but I’ll help nonetheless.” Said Hunter as he nodded in consideration.

“Awesome! Now let’s go, we gotta get our stuff to the park by 10am! Let’s show Saiki who’s boss!

* * *

After getting to the park and setting up in their area, the boys gathered on a park bench where Hiro opened up his notebook, showing the recipe he had been scrambling down back at the house.

“Ok, so I was thinking that we could go for the big fluffy pancake route, so I wrote up this recipe my grandma usually uses-”

“Your grandma?” A voice questioned. “How unoriginal.”

The group twisted around to see a mouse brown hair boy posing cockily with a posse standing behind him with similar smirks. Hiro frowned and walked forward.

“Saiki.”

“Akiba. Trying and failing to cook as usual I see.”

“And I see that you’ve hired chefs to do your dirty work. God forbid if you actually have to cook, right?” Taiga snickered at the comeback. Saiki scoffed harshly.

“Well I least I can afford professionals. The most you could do is to get some rats off your street.”

Taiga growled and the others frowned. Who did this guy think he was? He didn’t even knew any of them like that! He tightened his fist, trying to keep his calm. Saiki continued in his insulting rant.

“Face it Akiba, you should just give up. The most you can do is make soup for your sick little mommy.”

Before he knew it, Taiga’s fuse blew, making him strut forward and jab a finger into his chest.

“Hey! Fuck off jackass! You can keep your stupid insults to yourself! Hiro’s a great chef so shut it ya piece of shit!”

Everyone seemed startled by Taiga’s outburst and Taiga squirmed. He still struggled with his temper sometimes, and he’d been managing to keep it in check for a good while. Until now, that is. Taiga was about to open his mouth in apology but Hiro prevented him from doing so.

“Yeah! My food’s got heart and soul! And this for a good cause too! We’re not vain like you! Eat and weep, Saiki!” Hiro swiftly got up in Saiki’s face alongside Taiga. His orange eyes seemed to be lit on fire as he directed his gaze on Saiki.

“You can have all your little opinions on me, but if you rip on my friends one more time, I swear I will break you like a KitKat and put you in my pancake batter. Got it?”

Saiki numbly shook his head, and Hiro swiftly turned his back and faced his friends once again. Taiga blinked. He had never seen Hiro so angry.

“C’mon guys, let’s get to it! The fair’s gonna be opening and we don’t wanna be late.”

Making their way to the stand, Hiro instructed that three jobs needed to be handled while working the stand. Natsumi and Yoichi would be handling orders and payments from customers, Hunter and Keitaro were to place the toppings and dish out the pancakes to people, and Taiga would be helping Hiro in the kitchen. Taiga side eyed Hiro as they both tied on their aprons. He bit his lip before speaking.

“Hey…about back there with Saiki…”

“Huh? Don’t worry about him, Taiga. Saiki’s always been a pain.”

“I can kinda see that, yeah. But, uh, sorry for blowing up like that. I’m not angry like that anymore, I swear, it’s just-”

Hiro cut him off with a laugh.

“Dude, that was awesome!”

Taiga stared in confusion.

“What?”

“You should’ve seen yourself! He was all like “Grrr!” and you were all like “Rarr, fuck you!” and I was all like “Yeah, ya butthead!” Hiro blabbered as he re-enacted a rather exaggerated scene, flailing his arms about. He gave Taiga a excited smirk.

“I’ll be honest, I wasn’t any better. I did tell him I was gonna use him in my pancake mix. Wasn’t very sportsman-like, haha!”

Taiga snickered loudly. “Eh, it doesn’t matter anyway. He would’ve soured the batch anyway.”

Hiro let out another laugh.

“Pfft, yeah right. But I get what you mean. You didn’t mean to get all mad, but it was just because he was trying to be mean to me. That’s not being a bitch, that’s just standing up for us. Sometimes it’s worth it losing your temper.”

He closed his eyes and smiled reassuringly.

“It’s all in the name of being good friends right? Thanks for being there for me, Taiga!”

Taiga processed Hiro’s words. Hiro didn’t see his temper as some unruly manner. He thought of it as him being a good friend to the group. He saw him… as one of them. Taiga thought back to what Yoichi had said back at the house. It was only know he could truly see the resemblance betweenHiro and Mrs. Akiba. He could feel tension leave his body as beamed back as he looked at Hiro’s smile.

“I’m not any Gordon Ramsey, but I kinda know my way around a kitchen! Let’s get cooking!”

“Taiga?”

“Yeah?”

“That’s a wok. We need a frying pan for pancakes.”

“…Ok, maybe not. Maybe you take the lead with this one.”

And so Hiro did. Taiga and the others immensely enjoyed working their stand. Some highlights Taiga would look back on included when Yoichi would accidentally pronounce _crepe_ as _crap_. By the time the middle aged mothers and Natsumi would stare in shock as Yoichi recommended the ‘Big, Gooey Nutella Crap’, Taiga was entirely sure he was doing it on purpose.

He had to hold in snickers as he could see Hunter rather loudly judged people’s topping choices with his small sassy remarks, because “Sir, are you 100% sure you want that many dollops of whipped cream?”. To be honest, it was far better from when Keitaro accidentally put cayenne instead of the requested cinnamon sugar.

But one of his favorite parts were when Hiro had cranked up his playlist and he and Taiga had begun creating a whole dance routine while stirring and pouring the batter. When Taiga had asked if their dancing would burn the pancakes, Hiro only waved him off.

“Making people happy and sharing times these with my friends is what’s cooking is all about. So what if we dance around a bit? It just adds to the love, ya know?”

And while he wasn’t any philosopher, Taiga could understand what Hiro was getting at. Because with all five of the boys grinning and working up a sweat, he really did feel like he was a part of a team. And when they won second place compared to Saiki’s third, Taiga knew then that being with friends really did make the whole meal taste a little better.

(After the fair, the group opted for waffles with ice cream. They had all gotten sick of the smell of pancakes.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp, that was fun!
> 
> Go follow me on Twitter and Tumblr! Next chapter wil be out soon!
> 
> And al always, share the story!


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